“Go West, Young Man!”

This article was written by Chuck Detwiler III, creator of Real Man Money where it was originally posted. Chuck loves engaging with other Real Men about Money.

The earliest roots of “Go West, Young Man!” can be uncovered by following a quote cited in a biography of Horace Greeley: “If any young man is about to commence the world, we say to him, publicly and privately, Go to the West” (from the Aug. 25, 1838, issue of the newspaper New Yorker).

What It Means

Over the years, this phrase has been used to inspire Young Men to step out on their own. The phrase has been the inspiration behind the makings of a 1936 movie starring Mae West, Warren William and Randolph Scott, and it’s provided countless scores of people with motivation to strike out on their own. What I love about this quote is it specifies a direction. That’s right! … we didn’t just tell our young men to GO! We gave them a direction … Go WEST! This is important because it implies to be successful we must have a direction at minimum; if not an exact destination in mind.

If you’re a young man getting ready to strike out on your own I pray the phrase you don’t utter is “I’m going to go with the flow and see where it takes me…”. So many of our “Young Men” have lost the ability to see their destination. Why?! Unfortunately, many times this falls on the generation before them. Young Men have been told by to many “experts” that you should “find yourself”, “join the crowd”, “stay home”, and “it’s not if you win or lose, but how you play the game…”. I’ve got news for you MEN … It matters if you WIN! It matters if you LOSE! … Why? Because people count on Men. Families count on Men. And God counts on Real Men . . . in 1 Timothy 3:5 (NIV) the question is directed toward those who aspire to be overseers - “If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?” It’s time to stop accepting continual defeat, or apathy toward losing … It’s not good enough to participate . . . Financial Manhood means having a game plan, playing to WIN, learning from your losses, and crossing the finish line as a champion!

Know Where You Are

So why did I suggest you put on the brakes and look back in the rear view mirror? Well, I stole the idea from Abraham Lincoln, President . . . who stated: “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it.” So how did you do on your personal rear view look? Were you surprised, depressed, elated, or are you still trying to figure out if your current on your bills?

Being a Real Man with Money means knowing how to determine direction and if we’re moving toward our intended destination. Along the way we must act with integrity and by our example other Men will learn to be successful. So how do you find “West”? Ask for directions! . . . Duh! Look to others for guidance who have already been there or are traveling to the place you want to be. The sources for help are all around you. It may be a trusted friend, a successful book, your Grandfather, or a class you take. Benjamin Franklin wisely stated: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Remember . . . It matters if you win or lose. My personal search for financial manhood has come from a variety of places. My father spurred my interest when he told me I wasn’t investing enough in my 401K. (It’s amazing how just a quick statement can get the wheels of your mind turning.) This gentle nudge began my search for direction. Since that time I’ve read multiple books, sought advise from successful people, and taken classes on the proper handling of money.

So I bet your thinking about now . . . “Alright . . . so what direction am I suppose to take?” The simple truth is being a Real Man with Money requires we FIGHT for direction! We go to war against ourselves, against apathy, and against an uncertain future. God didn’t create you to be eternally dependent on everyone around you. He created you for a purpose and I seriously doubt it was to sit on your butt, in your parents basement, smoking weed and playing Xbox.

Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, said:“Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small. The difficult things in this world must be done while they are easy, the greatest things in the world must be done while they are still small.” So lets start our course correction with something easy. There are two sides to your Money: in-come and out-go. If you have more out-go than in-come then chances are your falling behind on your bills or you will fall behind in the near future. For my household this meant sitting down and figuring out where our money was going. Lets be honest, most men already have some sense of their income . . . it’s the out-go which keeps them baffled. Does this mean you’re now making a “budget” . . . No! Ready for your next Step MEN! . . . Let’s GO WEST!

You’ll need anything which shows how much money you made and how much you spent last month. (Checkbook, Credit Card bills, Bank Statements, Receipt’s, Pay stubs, etc…) Once you’ve collected your research then we want to do a quick breakdown into some general categories.

Current Spending Breakdown

• FOOD (Includes Eating Out and Groceries)
• UTILITIES (Water, Gas, Electric, etc…)
• HOME (Rent or Mortgage with any fees)
• TRANSPORTATION (Car, Gasoline, Insurance, etc…)
• PERSONAL (For now everything else goes into this category…)

The point of this is not to make you mad or make you feel stupid . . . It’s to learn by cutting our teeth on some hard facts! We need to see the truth about our priorities. The first four categories above show you the basic areas of everyday survival. These four areas are paid first no matter what! You and your family need to survive … others are depending on you . . . be a Real Man! Now, do you have enough to cover the basics (do not include the personal category)? If you do . . . are you current on these bills? These categories are in a specific order. When a Young Man starts out West he must plan for these things. Below are some recommended percentages (taken from Dave Ramsey, author of The Total Money Makeover) which has been extremely helpful to my family in making sure I’m not overspending in a given category.

Recommended Percentages

FOOD = 5-15%

UTILITIES = 5-10%

HOUSING = 25-35%

TRANSPORTATION = 10-15%

A Real Man knows the name of his first direction for his Money: it’s called . . . NECESSITY! Focus on the necessities, not the expendables. A Real Man with Money is never expendable!